Steck Marynd
Steck Marynd was a hunter, warrior, and woodsman among the Nehemothanai who pursued the necromancers Bauchelain and Korbal Broach for years after an undisclosed incident in their pasts.Blood Follows, Section 19Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 2 He later admitted to having been hired to eliminate the pair.Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 4 Steck was dark-faced, had shallow eyes and thin lips, had a sparse beard, and his ears could flick independently of each other like a mule. He wore armor under a fine cloak, and carried a small arsenal, including an exotic single-edged scimitar and a crossbow.Blood Follows, Section 3Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 2 He spoke Theftian with a harsh accent.Blood Follows, Section 14 Poet Avas Didion Flicker described him as "a strange and silent man who walked like a hunter in forestlands, yet in his face could be seen the ragged scrawl of a soldier's cruel life, a past of friends dying in his arms, of the guilt of surviving, of teeth bared to fickle chance and a world stripped of all meaning." He said the gods were "nothing to such a soldier", who begged only for "life and righteous purpose."Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 4 In Blood Follows In pursuit of Bauchelain and Broach, Steck visited the sites of a series of gruesome murders plaguing Lamentable Moll. This attracted the attention of Watch sergeant Guld who tasked a guardsman to follow Steck through the city. Guld interrogated Steck as a possible suspect in Quint's Bar.Blood Follows, Section 14 Steck later intervened when Guld seemed about to unmask Korbal Broach as the murderer at Fishmonger's Round. He incapacitated Guld, and then apologized saying he needed Broach to summon Bauchelain so that his long hunt could end. Steck waited for Bauchelain's arrival with a heavy iron crossbow equipped with rune covered quarrels. Before Steck could act, Bauchelain summoned a demon to paralyze him. Chiding Steck for being a minor irritant Bauchelain regretted that he foresaw many more years in the warrior's life.Blood Follows, Section 19 In Crack'd Pot Trail Steck and the other Nehemothanai joined a caravan following in the footsteps of Bauchelain and Korbal Broach on the Cracked Pot Trail across the Great Dry. Halfway across the desolate plateau the group ran out of food. The armed contingent of the caravan, which included Steck, decided that the group's "useless" artists would better serve as meals for the rest. Steck kept his crossbow readied to resolve any disagreements with the arrangement, once even accidentally firing it into his own foot.Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 3 When famed poet Nifty Gum and his two followers Oggle Gush and Pampera tried to break from the group, Steck tracked them down. Discovering the two women dead, he dragged Nifty back to the caravan.Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 6 As the caravan came to the end of the Great Dry, the poet Avas Didion Flicker told a story to the already agitated group of Nehemothanai and Chanters that hinted that their quarry, the necromancers, were the true passengers in the reclusive Dantoc Calmpositis' carriage. Violence ensued and the carriage collided with the Steck's horse causing his crossbow to misfire into Tulgord Vise's mount. The horse threw off the Mortal Sword directly into the path of the mule drawn carriage before colliding with Steck's mount. Steck's horse fell and rolled over him, breaking the hunter's leg.Crack'd Pot Trail, Chapter 6 In The Fiends of Nightmaria Steck Marynd was one of the ultimate survivors of the dire events of the Crack'd Pot Trail who arrived safely at the city of Farrog. Sometime near the conclusion of the 'Festival of Flowers and Sunny Days' - Steck was arrested on the orders of the new King of Farrog, usurper and regicide, Bauchelain the First. Steck (together with six other Cracked Pot Trail survivors - i.e., Apto Canavalian, Brash Phluster, Flea Chanter, Midge Chanter, Tiny Chanter, and Tulgord Vise) was taken to a torture chamber in the crypts of the Royal Palace of Farrog. There, the seven survivors were tortured - in rotation - on the rack by the Royal Torturer, Binfun...with far worse in the offing.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 4 Luckily, these particular prisoners, especially Steck, were able to escape with the aid of Shartorial Infelance, the Royal Palace's Seneschal,The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 10The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 11 and were soon wandering the crypt tunnels.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 14 At one point, Steck and the others had a mayhem-filled encounter with a group of thieves - the 'Party of Five' - who were also wandering the tunnels for reasons of their own.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 17 After some badly-needed healing at the Royal Apothecary,The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 20The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 24 Apto Canavalian and Brash Phluster left the others and set off, individually,The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 23 while the others, including Steck, continued on together.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 24 The remaining five escaped prisoners, including Steck, found their way to the Throne Room of the Royal Palace...where they hoped to find King Bauchelain and Korbal Broach. Entering the Throne Room, the group encountered the Demon Prince, Prince Flail Their Limbs...just leaving, and an Enthroned Demonic Mouse ensconced on the Throne. Due to an inadvertent action on the part of Steck and his crossbow, a cascade of unexpected disasters were unleashed.The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 27The Fiends of Nightmaria, Section 28 The ultimate fate of Steck and the others was not given. Quotes Notes and references Category:Males Category:Soldiers